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Breanna Robinson
Aug 04, 2022
Gun manufacturers in the hot seat following massacres in Uvalde, Buffalo
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A Texas city close to where 19 children and two teachers were shot dead in an elementary school classroom has revoked a deal for a gun group's fundraising event in a city-owned hall.
On Monday (1 August), the Hondo City Council reached a vote of 4-1 to rescind the Friends of the NRA's rental agreement to hold its fundraising event on Saturday (6 August) at the city's Medina Fair Hall.
This vote occurred after an angered crowd denounced the event, including a semi-automatic rifle raffle that is likened to the one the 18-year-old gunman used in the 24 shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Uvalde is 44 miles (70 kilometers) east of Hondo.
\u201cHondo city council has revoked the right for the Medina County friends of the NRA to have their fundraiser this Saturday.\n+\nA very visibly reaction from those in support of the 21 families of the victims.\u201d— Amanda Henderson (@Amanda Henderson) 1659392436
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The Friends of NRA's flyer for the event, which was uploaded to Facebook on July 14, read: "Don't miss the great food, friends, fun, & firearms at this year's Medina Area Friends of NRA Event on Saturday, August 6th at the Medina County Fair Hall in Hondo, TX at 5:30PM!"
The San Antonio Express-News reported that the group held similar fundraisers in the past at the hall for about 15 years.
Supporters of the local National Rifle Association group said that there wasn't any disrespect toward the victims of Robb Elementary and claimed that the event helped educate young people on how to handle firearms responsibly.
Still, people in the crowd Monday condoned the event and its timing.
"It's a slap in the face to all of Uvalde, especially the ones that lost a loved one, some of us being here today," said Jazmin Cazares, the sister to Jacklyn Cazares, 9. The latter was killed during the shooting at Robb Elementary in a video uploaded to NowThis' Twitter account.
\u201c\u2018It's a slap in the face to all of Uvalde\u2019 \u2014 Uvalde, TX, families and residents were met with snickering and jeers when they spoke up at a neighboring town's city council meeting about a local NRA fundraiser that would be raffling off an AR-15\u201d— NowThis (@NowThis) 1659515580
"Us as parents deserve better than this. I mean, you can't sit here and try to sell a rifle strikingly similar to the one that killed our children, you know, less than 60 days after they passed away," added Angel Garza, the stepfather of Amerie Jo Garza, 10, who was also killed.
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